Recently I drove through some towns in New Mexico I hadn't seen before. One set of advertising themes I saw was "Yesterday, Today and Tomorrow," or "The Past, The Present, and the Future" all with a hint of promise of what's to come.
The sad thing I saw was the Past was depicted by pictures of old, pretty buildings in town, and pastures and fields nearby, the Present was a bunch of words and statistics, and the Future was a grab bag of descriptions of Visions of Glory, Spaceports, new Tourist Attractions, Skiing, Recreational Opportunities and Better Shopping! God help me.
In no town did I see any pride that Today was prettier than Yesterday, that Tomorrow was going to be a nicer place to live than Yesterday ever was. It all reads like a race to WalMart. Why on Earth did I move to New Mexico? (well, the job pays really well, and New Mexico is a really pretty place once I get out of town, still.)
I really work in Rocket Science. We build better machines every day. They may not be prettier, but they work better than the previous versions. Why can't NM towns build better places every day they build at all? Why do these new neighborhoods look cheaper, fatter and crummier than the old blocks near downtown - in those towns that have downtowns? Is town building harder than rocket science?
Los Ranchos seems to have missed the boat. What is the history? What is worth remembering today? What does tomorrow look like? The Calico Cafe complex seems to work, but is that it for 4th Street - save for the proposed Starbuck drive-thru on Fecho Chavez's house site? It's all pretty crummy.
The great manufacturing complex of Albuquerque Tortilla Company is on the block, and they cut down all their trees. Does the Village care about the "quality of life" that trees and the Valley represent? Why did I buy a house here?
Mayor Abraham hosted a private fundraiser for Senator Domenici, complete with State, County and City police. Did the Village pay for this, or did Mr. Domenici? How does a small estate on Rio Grande Blvd help Los Ranchos grow into a town worth remembering? I just don't understand what this Village is about anymore.
I just don't know why I didn't listen to my Realtor and buy into North Albuquerque Acres instead.
Saturday, September 15, 2007
Thursday, September 6, 2007
Larry's Ship Adrift in Hot Water
Vigil's sudden departure seems to have come at a very inopportune time for hizzoner. What with a controversial (f)ire-station to build and a condemnation suit underway for private development at 4th and Osuna, Larry has got to be sweating at least a little. After all, Juan may have been a duplicitous hack, but at least he was a very seasoned pro. With many years in municipal government, he knew how to get things done and knew where all the bodies are buried. He was the real secret behind the effective unfolding of Larry's grand scheme for Los Ranchos, and without him EL Picador suspects most if not all of Abraham's agenda would have been left on the drawing board--where it belonged, but I digress. In short, Vigil was Cheney to Larry's Bush (That doesn't sound quite right, does it?)
The storm warnings are up for the remainder of hizzoner's term, and he has no qualified captain at the helm. Look for the big VC project to go belly up and for a lot more disorganization at village hall.
The jury is still out as to why Juan left so suddenly. Perhaps a problem with the current audit of village finances? That would be the sweetest irony! Whatever it was, it clearly took Juan by surprise. No political pro would ever be caught using the lame and suspicious excuse of "unforeseen circumstances" as the explanation for a resignation unless he had no time to spin something more polished. And Larry clearly wanted him gone ASAP, accepting his resignation effective immediately---and apparently without a successor ready to step in. It must be something fairly major. What do you think?
El Picador bets we have not heard the last of this.
The storm warnings are up for the remainder of hizzoner's term, and he has no qualified captain at the helm. Look for the big VC project to go belly up and for a lot more disorganization at village hall.
The jury is still out as to why Juan left so suddenly. Perhaps a problem with the current audit of village finances? That would be the sweetest irony! Whatever it was, it clearly took Juan by surprise. No political pro would ever be caught using the lame and suspicious excuse of "unforeseen circumstances" as the explanation for a resignation unless he had no time to spin something more polished. And Larry clearly wanted him gone ASAP, accepting his resignation effective immediately---and apparently without a successor ready to step in. It must be something fairly major. What do you think?
El Picador bets we have not heard the last of this.
Wednesday, September 5, 2007
Juan Gone!!
El Picador was nearly knocked clean out of the saddle when he saw a tiny paragraph in the Lange fish-wrap reporting that Juan Vigil had abruptly resigned his lofty position as Larry's side-kick and all-around hatchet-man. According to the article, he did this on Monday, which of course was Labor day. Now, that is a very old political trick. You put out the shocking news on a holiday or weekend, hoping no one will notice until you get a chance to get the spin going.
Why the sudden departure? Some speculate that the Shrub's recent invasion of our bucolic burg as the guest of hizzoner prompted Juan to ask for his walking papers. Juan is, of course, a long-time, old school democrat and may have taken offense at our self-proclaimed "independent"mayor's obsequious fawning over George the Tongue-Tied. El Picador does not subscribe to this theory. For starters, does Juan seem like the sort who would throw away an easy $90k per year on principle? Come on, people!! Also, one would think that a resignation based on such lofty moral grounds would have been milked for more golden pub---and would be accompanied by a 'heartfelt' statement at the least as well as an offer to stay on during a transition period. But what we got was a very quiet and very sudden departure announced while everyone who would care is drunk at the lake.
This smacks more of either a brewing scandal, or a sudden falling out with hizzoner. Favoring the former is the fact (see the Trib, June 11, 2006) that Vigil was interviewed extensively by the FBI in the course of the Manny Aragon court-house investigation. But my guess is that he and Larry had some big and very sudden disagreement. As anyone who has ever crossed swords with Larry can attest, hizzzoner can get pretty nasty when openly confronted.
Maybe Juan had finally had all he could take of Larry's BS. If so, El Picador tips his hat to Mr. Vigil. Better late than never!
On a related note, El Picador was sickened by the completely ridiculous coverage of the cell-tower--er, pine tree--unveiling in the latest issue of the Vision. Horrible, even by Vision standards. Take a look for yourselves--no further comment is necessary!!
Interestingly, El Picador's own cell, which once worked very well everywhere in Los Ranchos, is now cutting out frequently. This despite re-programming and upgrading to the latest digital technology. So will El Picador be safer and get good 911 coverage in the village? Yes he will, because his land-line is intact!
Why the sudden departure? Some speculate that the Shrub's recent invasion of our bucolic burg as the guest of hizzoner prompted Juan to ask for his walking papers. Juan is, of course, a long-time, old school democrat and may have taken offense at our self-proclaimed "independent"mayor's obsequious fawning over George the Tongue-Tied. El Picador does not subscribe to this theory. For starters, does Juan seem like the sort who would throw away an easy $90k per year on principle? Come on, people!! Also, one would think that a resignation based on such lofty moral grounds would have been milked for more golden pub---and would be accompanied by a 'heartfelt' statement at the least as well as an offer to stay on during a transition period. But what we got was a very quiet and very sudden departure announced while everyone who would care is drunk at the lake.
This smacks more of either a brewing scandal, or a sudden falling out with hizzoner. Favoring the former is the fact (see the Trib, June 11, 2006) that Vigil was interviewed extensively by the FBI in the course of the Manny Aragon court-house investigation. But my guess is that he and Larry had some big and very sudden disagreement. As anyone who has ever crossed swords with Larry can attest, hizzzoner can get pretty nasty when openly confronted.
Maybe Juan had finally had all he could take of Larry's BS. If so, El Picador tips his hat to Mr. Vigil. Better late than never!
On a related note, El Picador was sickened by the completely ridiculous coverage of the cell-tower--er, pine tree--unveiling in the latest issue of the Vision. Horrible, even by Vision standards. Take a look for yourselves--no further comment is necessary!!
Interestingly, El Picador's own cell, which once worked very well everywhere in Los Ranchos, is now cutting out frequently. This despite re-programming and upgrading to the latest digital technology. So will El Picador be safer and get good 911 coverage in the village? Yes he will, because his land-line is intact!
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